It is already known to employ the general method of roughening the surface of titanium implants and the endosteal stems of various prostheses to increase implant-to-bone contact and thus make the surface more osteoconductive.
Among the processes used heretofore to improve the surface of these titanium implants, surface treatments using a mixture of sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid as well as physical treatments such as surface blasting with different particles of different grain sizes and hardness are well known. These systems, however, do not create the desired high uniform roughness on the entire implant surface and, furthermore, particle-blasting treatments often leave uncontrolled grit residue on the titanium.
Reference U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,338 of 1994 concerns the surface treatment of titanium dental implants in which the implant is first blasted with materials of different grain sizes before being treated with hydrofluoric acid to remove the native oxide on the titanium surface. Finally the surface is treated with a mixture of sulphuric and hydrochloric acid.
Reference U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,453 of 1994 produced by the same patent holder as the foregoing reference, and also originating from initial application Ser. No. 351,214 concerns a dental implant where the surface has been treated using the technique described in the paragraph above, in which the upper section of the implant has a mechanically-polished surface and the threaded section of the implant has a rough, treated surface.
In accordance with the content of these two references, the rough implant surface is more uniform than that achieved using traditional techniques and consists of a surface with a uniform series of cone-shaped irregularities with heights ranging from 0.3 to 1.5μ.
With regard to the foregoing and more specifically to treatment whereby said surface is blasted initially with materials of different grain sizes, it has been proven that blasting of said surface, wherein compression causes a change in the physical structure, compacts it and makes it less permeable when attacked by acids and other subsequent treatments.
Blasting using materials of different grain sizes is, therefore, considered an inadequate treatment as it prevents a higher incidence of irregularities on the rough implant surface being obtained.
Similarly, and in line with suggestions put forward by Dennis P. Tarnow in an article entitled “Dental Implants in Periodontal Care”, published in 1993 in “Current Science” (p 157–162), consideration is given to the possibility of protection provided by a mechanically-polished safety area in dental implants in order to prevent possible peri-implant disease. Such an invention is known as a hybrid implant.
WO-A-00/44314, filed by the applicant himself, concerns taking blood —in situ— from the patients themselves to create plasma and to then use this plasma to help the bone regenerate as quickly as possible.